United Public Employees (UPE) is an independent labor union representing Sacramento County and Sacramento Courts employees. Since 1983, UPE has advocated fair salaries, affordable healthcare, and safe working conditions for its diverse membership. UPE members work across departments such as the Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney, Assessors, and Probation, as well as delivering essential community services like “Meals on Wheels.”

Problem

UPE relied on two separate legacy systems—one for membership management and another for case management. This created data silos that made it difficult to sync information, especially when linking member records to dues payments or case histories.

  • Membership records and dues data were housed separately, making it impossible to see a complete, real-time picture of a member’s status.
  • Contact information was split between systems, creating inefficiencies in outreach and communications.
  • Grievance and disciplinary case deadlines were tracked manually, increasing the risk of missed timelines.
  • Bulk email communications required exporting data into third-party tools, adding unnecessary steps and delays to urgent outreach efforts.

Solution

eMembership replaced UPE’s two disconnected systems with an integrated, union-specific platform that centralizes membership, case management, communications, and enhanced reporting.

Key features:

  • Grievances Module – Fully integrated with member records, enabling case managers to view grievance details from a member’s profile and vice versa. Deadlines are now automatically calculated and displayed, ensuring no critical dates are missed. Case dashboards and schedulers provide high-level views of upcoming steps, overdue items, and priority actions.
  • Centralized Membership & Dues Tracking – A single system now stores all member data, including demographic updates from county and municipal offices, linked directly to dues records for a complete member profile.
  • Reports & Queries – UPE staff can create custom reports, filtering data (e.g., active members by employer) and exporting results directly to Excel.
  • Mobile-Friendly Design – Built with mobile use in mind for case managers working both in-office and in the field, allowing them to access and update case information anywhere.
  • Integrated Email & Text Communications – Eliminates the need for external mailing tools, enabling UPE to send targeted, large-scale communications from within the platform.

Results

With eMembership, UPE now has a unified, real-time view of both membership and case information—something impossible under their legacy setup.

  • Administrative efficiency has improved by eliminating duplicate data entry and reducing the need for manual deadline tracking.
  • Case managers and leadership can immediately identify priority cases and upcoming deadlines from a single dashboard.
  • Communications with members are faster and more direct, with no extra steps or external tools required.

UPE plans to roll out eMembership’s member web portal and mobile app soon—further enhancing accessibility and self-service for members.

More than 40 union locals across the USA and Canada rely on eMembership to centralize operations, improve member engagement, and deliver measurable efficiency gains. To learn how eMembership can help your union streamline processes and strengthen member support, schedule an introductory call with David Stone today.

FAQs

How does eMembership unify membership management and case management in one system?

eMembership replaces separate legacy systems with a single integrated platform where member records, dues data, grievance cases, and communications all live together. Case managers can view grievance details directly from a member's profile, and member data is always linked to case history without any manual synchronization.

How does eMembership help unions track grievance and case deadlines?

Deadlines are automatically calculated and displayed within the Grievances Module, so case managers never need to track critical dates manually. Case dashboards and schedulers provide a high-level view of upcoming steps, overdue items, and priority actions across the full caseload.

Can eMembership link member dues records directly to member profiles?

Yes. eMembership stores all member data, including demographic information and dues records, in a single system. This gives staff a complete, real-time picture of each member's status without needing to cross-reference separate databases.

Does eMembership support bulk email and text communications without external tools?

Yes. The Integrated Email and Text module allows unions to send targeted, large-scale communications directly from within eMembership. There is no need to export data into third-party mailing tools, which eliminates extra steps and speeds up urgent outreach.

Can case managers access and update records from the field?

Yes. eMembership is built with mobile use in mind, allowing case managers to access and update case information from any device, whether they are in the office or working in the field.

Can unions create custom reports from their membership and case data?

Yes. The Reports and Queries module allows staff to build custom reports by filtering on criteria such as active members by employer, case status, or dues standing, and export results directly to Excel without requiring technical expertise.